Sustainability Demensions for Business

When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the

Although there is no formal definition for the term, individuals have tried to define sustainability according to their function or area of study. The term “sustainability,” once an obscure ecological concept, has now been adopted by many in the business world to connote the principles of social and environmental responsibility (Joseph Fiksel, Jonathan Low and Jim Thomas). Further, sustainability can be seen through the eyes of business as a way to create value. More likely than not, the term sustainability can be linked to the ability of decreasing costs, wastes and inefficiencies. According to the vice president of General Electric,

The analysis will focus on some key aspects such as; the overall plan, products/services sustainability, human resource relations, customer’s relations, environmental concerns, and the company social responsibility to the company. Descriptive analysis will help appraise of the company’s sustainability strategy. The critical analysis of the company’s sustainability will help in coming up with conclusions about sustainability of the strategy, and give insights on how the company can improve its sustainability strategy. There are also various recommendations based on these conclusions (Heslin and Ochoa 2008).

Sustainability from a strategic business perspective is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). Business sustainably is often defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. (Business sustainability definition from financial times lexicon, no date). This essay will discuss the idea of sustainability being an important element within a businesses and its core strategies and the importance of it within different businesses. Secondly, this study will look at how different stakeholders are affected and influenced by sustainability as this could be seen as a catalyst to improving the environment as a whole and. Then this study will look at how businesses not focusing

or so many years our society has been thinking of forming new creative and innovative businesses, which would be more environmental and customer friendly. Nowadays a large number of different companies follow the social, ethical, as well as moral consequences when it comes to their decision making. One of the relatively new concepts involving economic and social concerns is Corporate Social Responsibility. Many of us apply this approach not only at work, but also in everyday life without even recognizing.

Bertrand Piccard quotes, “In the 21st century, the heroes will be the people who will improve the quality of life, fight poverty and introduce more sustainability. This is a powerful message, it sums up the concepts discussed throughout the course. Additionally, the case studies such as the New Belgium Brewery, SC Johnson and The Kimberly Clarke organization have been proven to practice this philosophy. As society progresses in its efforts to provide a more sustainable future, there is a fundamental foundation of principles that must be followed to ensure success. Sustainable business development takes into account the application of business operations as it relates to the three pillars of sustainability, which is a dynamic yet integrative place to begin this journey. DesJardins, (2006) calls for a re-imagination of the future to create a vibrant sustainable model; which forms similar beliefs to Piccard. In addition, organizations are more inclined to create sustainable practices based on consumer demand and the willingness of leadership to participate in sustainability programs.

The three pillars are environmental, social and economically sustainability. However in this report, environmental sustainability will be brought to light, the two other pillars will be trivial. In order for environmental sustainability to be defined, general sustainability must be defined. Sustainability is the ability to continue a defined behaviour indefinitely (Thwink.org, 2015). For the environment, there are three aspects which must be sustained for, renewable resources, non-renewable resources and pollution. Therefore, environmental sustainability is the degree of pollution emission, renewable resource production and non-renewable resource consumption that can be continued indefinitely for future use. CAROBN

Business sustainability, which originally was viewed as a question of corporate governance, has now emerged as a central, multifaceted theme of the twenty- first century. It is now the responsibility of corporate boards and managers to focus on business sustainability by creating enduring value for shareholders and managing the interests of other stakeholders, including creditors, employers, suppliers, government, and society at large.

The idea of sustainability has become an increasingly common term in the rhetoric surrounding business ethics, as corporates are gaining broader acknowledgement of this pro-active method which guarantees business long-term viability and integrity by focusing on the triple bottom line. In business, the three aspects of sustainability include social, economic and environment.

The greatest challenge faced by many organizations today and especially the labour intensive industries is ensuring there is a sustainable

Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors as well as sustainability is becoming a driving force for better efficiencies and innovation. Two organizations, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, have both took on sustainability as long term initiatives to address their customer needs and affect how their suppliers operate.

news, the report informs that the company is not contended with not only their sustainability

There are three pillars that make up overall sustainability: social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Social sustainability focuses on all human needs being met and a society functioning properly indefinitely. Economic sustainability is achieving a certain level of economic success indefinitely. It also involves having an extremely low percent of people living below the poverty line, which relates to social sustainability. Environmental sustainability is described as, “the rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation, and non-renewable resource depletion that can be continued indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014) Achieving environmental sustainability will positively affect the social and economic aspects. These three categories are directly related to each other, and to truly reach complete sustainability each of the group’s needs must be met. There are many ways for individuals, groups, companies, and societies to help make a difference in reaching this goal. Environmental issues are currently very prominent in the US and other countries. There are countless activists and researchers doing everything they can to make a difference. Most businesses, like

Every living being are directly or indirectly depend on natural environment. Sustainability helps to balance financial, social, and environmental factors to facilitate responsible business decision making over the immediate and long term. . Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Oxford University press 1987, p.43). Sustainability is also being protective and aware of use of natural resources and development that meets the need of present and everything that is need for our survival and well being depends, directly or indirectly on our natural environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainability is

Sustainability when we try to understand in the context of corporate is recognizing that the corporation’s long